Rethinking Power and Influence with Rich Cox

Think about a recent situation where you had to influence another person or group.

Huimin Hurry, 25.08.2014

It could be in a leadership position, a business negotiation, a sales consultation, a stakeholder meeting, or even as a parent. How did you exercise your influence, and were you able to achieve the desired outcomes?

If you hold authority from a formal rank or position in an organization, it would have given you some influencing power. However, in most situations, we do not have that legitimate power over the person whom we are dealing with. Even when we do, many find that it is no longer enough to rely on positional power because the demands of interactions are now different than before. Our business contacts are better informed, have access to resources, are well-connected, have more choices, and come from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Rich Cox, who lectures at Stanford Graduate School of Business and coaches executive teams on leadership and communication, answers our questions on Power and Influence.

Is it recommended to have more power, rather than less?

Contrary to the belief that more power is better, Cox reveals that the word ‘power’ itself often triggers a negative reaction as it is typically associated with organizational hierarchy and authoritative dominance. Instead, power is essentially about whether you can influence, control and lead a situation, people or a set of resources. You can have power and command respect in various ways – where positional power is the authority received through being appointed; personal power is the authority commanded through your expertise, likeability and how you show up as a person.

The best way to gain influence and build trust is to combine the traits of personal power with positional power, warmth with strength, and to be able to recognize what the situation requires. The most effective leaders are fluid in using the full range of their power capacity in adapting to the situations.

How to be fluid in using that range of influencing power?

Preparation is crucial, but what is the right kind of preparation? “Before people decide what they think of your message, they decide what they think of you. Many people prepare for influencing others by researching and rehearsing what to say, instead of focusing on the state of mind and attitude to adopt”, says Cox.

Before entering the situation, know what is the kind of power required for that communication and choose how you need to show up in order to accomplish your communication goals. You may even choose to lower your status in some situations to connect warmly with your audience and get them to open up, doing so in a way that fosters trust and respect.

“To be able to adapt fluidly to what the situation calls for, you need to stretch your range of expressing power until you get comfortable having and holding the range that you need. It is not about being inauthentic. Everybody has a range, it is about stretching that range to ways you haven’t before, thereby increasing your capacity to influence others in different contexts.”

In essence, what has been a key takeaway for the participants of your trainings?

“Interestingly, there are a lot of people who come [to the trainings] and they are not that comfortable with having more power, but they are very curious about it. There are definitely people who come with the objective of learning how to use, and gain, more power. At the end of the day, they realize that it is a tool for how they show up and connect with people. Command and control do not work as they used to anymore. In this modern world, it is about empowerment and the ability to lead, motivate and influence others to action. They realized that how they show up today is great, and it may not be how they need to show up tomorrow to keep growing.”

Rich Cox is a Lecture at Stanford Graduate School of Business and an international consultant, specialized in leadership, communication and innovation.

Get Monthly Insights to Your Email

Aalto Leaders’ Insight shares fresh stories, articles and views on different aspects of leadership, business and self-development. See a sample of Highlights of Aalto Leaders' Insight newsletter that is sent maximum twice per month to the subscribers. Easy to unsubscribe. See a sample.

My email address *

Your email is used for marketing purposes to keep you up to date with the latest business insights and information on programs that will help you enhance your career. By subscribing, you accept this. See our
Privacy Policy.

We use cookies on this site to improve user experience. By continuing to use our services, you accept our Privacy Policy.

Send Us Message

First and Last Name *

Email *

Phone number

+-

Yes,keep me updated about the program

My message *

Privacy Policy

About this Website and Privacy Policy

Main Points

Purpose for the processing of personal data

The purposes for the processing of personal data include: the management of customer relationships; the realization of the rights and obligations of the customer and the controller; the processing of personal data in accordance with the Personal Data Act with regards to online services; research activities; and, steering the advertising and/or direct marketing of the controller and/or its partners on the basis of personal data via the controller’s media channels and services without disclosing any personal data to an external party.

Content of the register for marketing

The register may contain the following information:

Name

E-mail address

Mobile phone number and/or other telephone number

Name of the organization and position in the organization

Address of the organization

Access log

Marketing automation and profiling

Aalto EE websites run a marketing automation system that is used to

improving general user experience of Aalto EE’s web services, e.g. highlighting services that are of highest importance to the visitor;

Aalto EE sets a cookie to learn how visitors consume content in all its digital services. Visitor’s person stays anonymous to Aalto EE until

1. Visitor fills in contact information on some webform

The user's personal information may be linked to the cookie when she reveals her person by filling in a webform, e.g. application/registration, request for information or newsletter subscription. The information given is stored in Aalto EE’s marketing or customer register.

2. Visitor arrives at the website from an email marketing message sent by Aalto EE

The user's personal information may be linked to the cookie when the user arrives at the website via an email marketing message sent by Aalto EE. The sources for e-mail marketing messages are Aalto EE’s marketing or customer register. A user whose cookie is linked to personal data can receive email marketing that is personalized based on her website visitor history.

Your email is used for marketing purposes to keep you up to date with the latest business insights and information on programs that will help you enhance your career. By subscribing, you accept this. See our Privacy Policy.